EXTRAORDINARY FALL OF RAIN. 267 
defences for the keels. One large piece of main- 
keel was found entire. It was composed of fir 
wood (probably drift-timber) and defended by a 
row of pieces of bone, fastened to it by wooden pegs 
inserted in boles A tbs of an inch in diameter. 
There were remains and bones of rein-deer, dogs, 
narwals, seals, bears, &c. about the old hamlets 
they visited, and these in very great abundance. 
Several partridges were seen, which were so tame 
that some of them were knocked down with stones, 
and a small bird was taken up alive by the hand. 
The long and tedious gale which commenced 
blowing at NE., in the night of the lOth-llth of 
August, about noon of the 13th, began to sub¬ 
side ; and the rain, which had fallen in one heavy 
and incessant shower that lasted sixty-two hours, 
at length abated. With little intermission, in¬ 
deed, we had heavy rain from Thursday morning 
until this day, the Tuesday following,—a period 
of 130 hours. During this interval we never saw 
the sun for a moment; and so great was the den¬ 
sity of cloud above us, that I never even observed 
any superior brightness in the quarter of the hea¬ 
vens occupied by the sun. The quantity of rain 
that fell far exceeded any thing of the kind I ever 
before witnessed. Our boats were likely to be torn 
from the tackles by the weight of .water that col¬ 
lected in them before it was observed ; and, after 
that, they were emptied repeatedly. 
